I still haven't. With a full schedule as an immigration attorney and a full gig schedule as a musician, I haven't had the time to put aside to get to all the repairs at once. But, things are lightening up starting midweek, so I'm hoping soon. I have to say that it's a great deck even in manual mode, so the fact that I can still use it lessens the urgency of repair, but I still have a twinge of slacking every time I spin a record....
I take it that you have disabled the "Auto-Return" function; if not bad things can happen with the stylus being dragged across the surface of the end of play.
Of course!
I have finally taken the plunge, including recapping the main board (that's done), but I have taken apart the arm assembly all the way down to the plate that covers the broken part. However, there are two screws that just won't budge. Any idea about how to get them out of there? I'm even using Japanese philips head screwdrivers and I also tried vice grips to grip the edges of the screws. So close!
I used a good wire cutter to bite on the screw head.
Yikes! I'm not sure what that would look like. Would heating it loosen it?
Maybe, but the wire cutter worked instantly
I guess I was lucky in that regard with no problems in removing any of the screws in the two SL-1300Mk2 which I repaired. I have heard that some have had success in removing screws with the application of heat from a small tip soldering iron.